Need you Now
by CaptainFlye
Summary: They had the perfect marriage.  They were so in love.  They were living their dreams.  Then they fell apart.  NaruHina; one-shot; based on the song by Lady Antebellum


**So, this idea came to me as I was listening to the radio. It started off as a SasuSaku idea, but this one forced its way in instead. Story based on Lady Antebellum's song "Need you Now". For those of you unfamiliar with the song, type this link, minus the spaces: **

**www. youtube .com/watch?v=eM213aMKTHg**

**Please review and let me know what you think.**

**disclaimers:I do not own Naruto or the song _Need You Now_.**

**Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san**

** "Need You Now" belongs to Lady Antebellum**

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Hinata picked up another photo album, slowly going through the pictures. Things had seemed so beautiful back then. They were…so happy, back when they started out. She had felt like she was living a dream each day. Small tears fell from her eyes as she turned the pages. She remembered every moment as if it were still that very day. Every kiss, every touch…when had it gone downhill? When he had gotten so busy, and worked so hard. Was he still doing that? Did he ever even think about her now?

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Naruto lifted his face off the desk. Was he still in the office? What was going on? Looking in his hand he found the empty bottle. Oh, that's right; it would have been their anniversary that day…yesterday if he was looking at the clock right. He wasn't even sure how long it had been since they separated now. Every day was a blur, and most nights he couldn't sleep. To everyone else he looked busy, but his mind was never on his work. He didn't think he even remembered half the a rank missions he had assigned shinobi to in the last month.

He looked across the dimly lit room towards the door. He smiled half heartedly as he recalled how many times Hinata had just come through unexpectedly, how often he'd blown off work in the beginning just to go have a bite to eat with his wife. He leaned forward, head in his hands, tears flowing down his face. Why did he have to screw it up?

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Hinata paced back and forth at home. It was well after hours, and Naruto still wasn't home. He'd told her he'd be back on time today! They were supposed to have dinner with her family. She'd sent them a message saying that Naruto was going to be held up, and she hadn't sat down since. He did even send her a note! Where was he?

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Naruto idly filled out another report for the council. It really was a bore, but then again, it was his job. He had to get it done. It was, after all, his dream to be the best hokage ever. He couldn't afford to shirk off his work. He glanced up at the clock, looked down, then jumped as he stared at the clock again.

"Crap!"

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"Naruto, where have you been? This is the tenth time this month you've blown me off!" Naruto raised his hands defensively.

"Hinata-chan-"

"Don't Hinata-chan me! Aren't I even important to you anymore?"

"Of course Hinata, I just, I lost track of time."

"How can that be your excuse every time Naruto? Every time you come home late it's always 'I lost track of time Hinata,' 'there was so much paper work Hinata.' Well, I'm not going to take it anymore! If care so much about that paper work then get out! Just, just get out!" Silence fell between them as Hinata finished her tirade. Naruto felt his heart break in two. He would give up being hokage just to be with her, but if she hated him so much…

"Fine I, I'll go." He kept up the calm exterior as he packed his few clothes and grabbed his ninja gear, turning only as he walked out the door. "Good-bye, Hinata." He turned before she could see the tears run down his face, and before he could see her drop to her knees, crying into her hands. It was supposed to be such a good day for them. She'd had such great news for him but, now he didn't love her any more. He didn't want to be with her. She would do anything for him to be happy, but if he was happier being hokage without her interfering and taking up room in his life…she would let him go, even if she cried through the rest of the night and the next day, she would leave him for his dream.

For Naruto, it seemed appropriate, after wandering aimlessly for an hour, that it began to rain. He ended up on the top of the monument, where he'd proposed to her, dropped to his own knees and wailed his despair.

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Hinata had taken her name off of the ninja registrar a few days later. She couldn't stand to be around Naruto and have him not be hers. She couldn't handle seeing him, and knowing he would never kiss her again, never put his arms around her again. She refused to let her father or Neji talk to Naruto, telling them he was simply happier without her, and she respected his wishes. Neji tried to talk with her about Naruto a few times, but she would force a subject change or leave. When he tried talking to Naruto, he would do the same.

Sometimes, Sakura would come up to him and try to tell him about Hinata, that something was going on in her life, but Naruto told her that Hinata didn't want him around, so why should he pry into her life. The carefree, happy ninja became terse and short. Even his friends began to avoid him as he filled his nights trying to drink away his sorrows. Sai and Shikamaru ended up doing the bulk of his work on their own, and audiences were kept to a minimum. How could they let the people see their beloved hero and hokage like this?

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"He misses you, you know?" Hinata jerked her head in surprise, seeing Shikamaru standing a few feet from her.

"Sh, Shikamaru? What are you doing here?" he sighed.

"It's a drag, but he's my friend. I don't know what happened between you two. Neither of you will talk about it, but he needs you-"

"No!" Shikamaru stopped as requested, eyeing the bundle in her arms. "He, he needs me to be away," she said quietly. "I won't deny him his dream."

"What about-"

"I won't let anything get in the way of his dream!" The lazy genius sighed.

"It's a drag, but what if his dream isn't what you think it is?" With that he walked away, and Hinata felt herself succumbing to the weakness she'd been feeling since they separated. She cried as she ran home, slamming the door shut. The rest of the day she spent looking through the pictures of their time together, wishing things could be the way they were.

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"Even I can see she needs you." Naruto slowly pulled his head up from the desk. There was a small pile of drool where he'd past out from his latest binge.

"Wha?"

"She needs you. I see her from time to time, and while I still don't understand a lot of people's looks and things, she wears the same face as you do."

"Whooz you talkin' 'bout?"

"Your wife misses you." Naruto hit the table.

"No! I, I saw the look on her face! I, I screwed up, I know that, but it's too late. I, I'm not going to put her through that again. If, if I face her, I, I don't think I'll be able to stop myself from trying again, but she doesn't even want to see me! How can I put her through something she doesn't want anymore?" Sai shook his head.

"Did you ever actually ask what she wanted, or did you just assume?" Sai left the office then, along with the paper work for the day, and left naruto to cry again, grabbing the next bottle from beneath his desk. Tsunade really did know how to hide the stuff. Good thing, he thought, or else he'd never be able to stop thinking about Hinata. Still, had he ever asked?

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That was it, they had to get out, they had to see the other, they had to know, had to hear it from their own ears. _I need you…_

Hinata picked up her bundle once again, dashing out the door. She didn't know where he lived, but heading to the hokage tower was as good a bet to track him down as any.

Naruto threw the desk over in his rush to get out, jumping out the window. She might have moved, for all he knew, but there was a chance who ever had moved into their old home knew where she was now. So what if it was 1 in the morning. He had to see her now!

So they rushed through the streets, barely apologizing to the odd civilian or shinobi they passed on their way to meet their hearts needs, never sure if the other even thought of them, only knowing they were incomplete without the other.

"Sorry, but I need to see someone," the keep saying. They rushed around a corner, nearly colliding with someone else before swiveling to avoid the crash.

"Sorry but I need, to see…" They paused.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Hinata-chan?" They didn't speak for several moments, they just looked into each other's eyes, surprised that the other was still there, and even more surprised by what was in the other's eyes: regret, loss, and need. They needed each other. They swept forward, embracing and kissing passionately, as if to make up for all the time that had been lost. They were only interrupted by a soft cooing that came from the bundle in Hinata's arms. Naruto jumped back slightly in shock as Hinata took to shushing the baby in her arms. The baby had bright blonde hair…

"Hi, Hinata –chan, is that, am I, did we…?" Hinata hung her head.

"Naruto-kun I, I'm sorry. I, I was going to tell you, the day that you left. I, I'd just found out…" Naruto rocked back and forth, wrapping his mind around the concept.

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why, why didn't you tell me?"

"I, I didn't want you to feel, to feel like I was trying to, trying to keep you from your dream. I, love you so much, and I'd do anything to help you fulfill your dream…even if I can't be part of it." Naruto held her as tightly as he dare, careful of the child she held.

"Hinata-chan, being Hokage was a dream, yes, but you were my new dream, the dream that meant the most to me, the dream I couldn't live without. I would give up being hokage, being a shinobi, even Konoha just to spend one more day, one more minute with you. I love you, too." Despite every care of appearance, they cried in each other's arms, and for the next few hours Naruto got to know his child.

The next day Sai walked in to rouse Naruto as usual and remind him to take a shower. He stopped mid step in mild surprise as he surveyed to room, taking stock of everything that was out of place.

"Naruto-sama?" Naruto turned from his place at the window, looking out on the village. His eyes were bloodshot from being up all night.

"Ah, Sai; good morning."

"What can I do for you today?" Naruto fondly looked over to the corner of the room where Hinata lay curled up on the couch with their child, Jiriaya. Even without Naruto, she knew what he would name his child.

"Well, I need you to get a play pen for me, and I think I need to change that storage room into a spare bedroom. I'm still hokage, but if I'm going to be hokage, my family comes first. We're moving into the tower so that I can spend time with…with my son," he said, smiling oddly, still bemused by the idea. "It was Hinata-chan's idea. This way I'll always be near them, and it will be a good reminder not to let work take too much of me." He looked back out the window. "You were right, Sai; thank-you." Sai nodded.

"Of course, Hokage-"

"Sai!" The pale man paused.

"Yes?"

"You, of all people, should know I want you to just call me Naruto." Sai smiled.

"Of course…Naruto. Is there anything else you need?" Naruto turned around and walked over to the couch where Hinata was sleeping, gently caressing her face.

"Yes…tell the council that they can go to heck today; I need to make up for lost time with my family."

"Of course, Naruto. I'll get working on the bedroom accommodations right away."

"Thank-you…for everything."

"It's nothing." Naruto sat, staring at Hinata and Jiriaya for a good while longer, till the boy began to wake up, crying to be fed. Naruto gently lifted him up and picked up the a bottle Hinata had brought with her, quickly going to work as he prepared to feed his son for the first time.

"Darn it, why are these instructions so complicated," he muttered as he tried to prepare the formula one handed. This was going to take some practice.

"It's not so hard, dear," the angelic voice said from behind him.

"Oh, Hinata!" He blushed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." She giggled, holding him around the waist.

"It's fine. I'm used to waking up at this time, actually. For now, I can just breast feed him. I'll teach you how to do the formula later." Naruto whimpered in disappointment as Hinata consoled him and walked him through the mixing the formula. The smiled happily as they continued through the day, once again living in a dream.

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**So, the ending was the hardest part. I just couldn't find the right way to explain it, so I gave a short version. In the end, they would only be in living in the spare room of the hokage's tower for a little while. It was a bit of a transistory idea until Naruto realized that the village was doing pretty good without him giving all his time to it (he's still a little dense and hasn't realized how much Sai and Shikimaru have been doing in his place). Within 2 months, if I were to continue this story, they would be moved out again, though the 'spare room' would remain largely intact, mainly as a reminder to Naruto, along with a new series of photo's sitting right up on his desk, that he has a family now, and that they will ALWAYS come first.**

**Hope ya'll liked it. Again, please review and let me know, and don't forget to at least give a glace at some of my other stories. Take care!**


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